Naivety
by Jemima123
Summary: Clara never knew how dangerous her father was until she met Charles and Erik. And then when she meets them everything in her world seems to turn upside down. Charles/OC
1. Chapter 1

"She is wondering where we were the other night," the crystal woman spoke out loud as she settled herself down onto a sun lounger and smirked lightly, changing back into her normal, blonde and beautiful self. The man behind the bar sighed lightly, pushing a hand through his hair and shook his head quickly, downing the champagne which he had just poured into a crystal glass. Riptide chuckled once as he noted the smirk on Emma's face and Azazel remained tight lipped, sitting down on the sun lounger next to Emma's.

"She detests it when you read her thoughts," the leader of the three spoke out loud, managing to down another glass as he winked at Emma and she pushed the sunglasses further onto her eyes with haste, covering her emotion. "I should go and see her."

Sebastian Shaw managed to move himself from behind the bar as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his white designer suit and he walked down the wooden deck of the boat and down the steps into the living area, standing still when he saw the brunette. He remained stood a slight distance back, watching as she ran a hand down her curly hair and pushed the straps of her dress back onto her shoulders where they belonged.

"Why do you not go back to the front of the boat?" Sebastian managed to call out as he walked further down the luxurious carpet and then stopped, sitting on the plush cushioned chair opposite the girl's as she looked at him through her blue eyes.

"I know you had Emma read my mind," she spat. "You know why I am sat here."

"Then you should know that nothing is going on which concerns you Clara," he warned her dangerously. "Enjoy the Miami sunshine whilst we are still here."

"There's an issue though," the brunette spoke. "I know there is something which is going on and the fact you won't tell me what it is worries me."

"It is business Clara," Sebastian drawled, his hands pushing his hair behind his ears. "You need to trust me a little more. I am your father after all and I have done well by you for all these years, have I not?"

"Of course," Clara nodded. "I just don't want anything risky to happen."

"I don't plan to drag you into anything Clara," Sebastian promised her. "You can stay back as much as you want. I understand you're not cut out for this."

"You mean I'm not a mutant and so not worthy of knowing anything?" she said, her voice venomous slightly as Sebastian stood up and looked back up the steps and onto the deck of the boat.

"You really do need to stop placing words into my mouth," Sebastian informed her. "Now stay here. I do believe Colonel Hendry has arrived."

Sebastian moved out onto the boat of the deck as Clara stood up, looking up the steps and realising no one was coming down. She pushed the brown curls behind her shoulders as she looked at her father's desk, lifting up paperwork to see if she could find anything out. But there was nothing. He kept nothing of interest in the room.

...

"The fire isn't that warm Clara," Sebastian told his daughter later on that night when he had finally managed to drag her onto the deck of the boat and he removed his white linen jacket.

"I'm fine," she replied, sitting down on the left hand side of the seat as her father rolled his eyes and placed the jacket onto her lap before turning his attentions to petting Emma. Clara reluctantly placed her arms into the white linen as Riptide watched her avoid all of those stares. Emma did her best not to read the twenty one year olds mind but it was taking a lot of energy considering she was moaning about anything.

"Herr Doktor," Riptide suddenly spoke and Shaw stood up with haste, smirking lightly as Emma moved to his side. Clara remained seated, peering around the bodies of the three mutants as she saw a man in a wet suit stood on the boat. He had his hands clenched into fists as Sebastian spoke something in German to him. Clara finally stood up, wondering what was going on as a dagger flew through the air and Emma grabbed onto it in her hand, her crystal form showing as the man bent over in pain.

"You really do need to let go of the past Erik," Shaw informed the young man whilst Clara remained confused as to what was happening. What was in the past? And who was Erik? "And so I bid you farewell. Riptide, please do the honours."

And with that a large gust of wind shot through the air and Erik fell back into the water. Clara rushed over to the edge and looked down into the water, her hands grabbing onto the metal bars to see if Erik had survived. Before she had a chance to say anything there was the sound of horns and the shouts of threats were heard. She looked up into the blinding lights as her father declared the party had well and truly started.

"What the hell is going on?" she asked her father who smirked back at her.

"They have a telepath on board," Emma informed Shaw. "I've blocked him out."

"Answer me Dad!" Clara yelled at Shaw as his eyes went wide and he saw the metal anchor rise from the water with brute force. He watched as it began to move down and he then grabbed onto Clara's wrist as she fought against him.

"We need to go!" he snapped at his daughter and she pushed him away from her in worry. She barely noticed the following of events as the anchor sliced the deck in half and left her stranded on the half away from her father. He looked at her as she fell backwards, clumsily tripping over her feet like normal people do.

"Clara!" he yelled at her and Emma grabbed him around the arm, dragging him down the boat as Clara stumbled back even further in fear of the flying anchor. Before she could register anything she was in the water.

...

"I'm like you!" Charles snapped at Erik five minutes later as they stood on the side of the large navy boat. Erik remained confused, panting heavily as Charles was handed a blanket and he wrapped it around his shoulders. Raven moved to his side, checking he was okay as he remained staring at Erik.

"What do you mean?" Erik snapped. "You were inside my head...how did you do that?"

"I'm a telepath," Charles explained, spitting some more water from his mouth before his head began to hurt and he grabbed onto it in slight pain, looking into the water with haste and then seeing Moira out the corner of his eyes.

"There's someone out there," he quickly spoke. "Moira...there's someone in the water..."

"Who?" she simply asked and Charles shook his head.

"I don't know. But she fell from Shaw's boat and it isn't the telepath."

"There was another girl on the boat," Erik recalled, coughing for breath. "I don't know who she was."

"I could get a lifeboat to go out and check," Moira suggested and Charles shook his head hastily, his brown hair sticking to his face and his cheeks seeming paler than usual.

"She doesn't have that long," he replied, throwing the blanket from his shoulders as Raven tried to pull him back from the railings.

"No!" she snapped. "You cannot go back in there."

"Someone is in danger," Charles replied. "I have no option."

Charles managed to jump over the railing and fell into the water, his mind guiding him to where this girl was. He swam with increasing might before he saw a piece of metal flying by the side of him. At first he feared danger but then he latched onto the plan. Erik had thrown the anchor in to drag him back when he found her. His legs began to ache as he kicked against the rapid current, listening out to her thoughts until he found her.

"Take hold of my hand," he spluttered, the water lapping around his face as he bobbed up and down in the sea.

"Who are you?" she spat back, grabbing onto his cold hand as he pulled her to him, his arm slipping around her waist as he grabbed onto the anchor chain and it began to move through the water.

"Charles Xavier," he greeted her as she allowed an arm to move around his neck, pulling her out the water slightly.

"Well...what..." she tried to ask a full sentence with coherence but she couldn't manage it as the water in her lung was too much and the energy which she had was too little.

"Save your breath," Charles advised her. "You need the energy."

As they reached the side of the boat, Charles found the steps, allowing Clara to move up them first, her limbs dragging her down along with the white linen jacket she wore over her simply navy blue summer dress. Erik extended a hand, helping her to climb the last two steps and she stood in front of him, her clothes dripping onto the floor of the boat as Charles came to stand beside her, his hands on his hips and he doubled over, breathing deeply for breath. Erik took in the girl's appearance before he dropped her hand from his own, his face turning stricken with hatred and disgust.

"Why did we save her?" Erik snapped loudly as Raven draped another blanket over Charles' shoulders and the telepath shook his head at Erik. "She's his daughter! She is the spitting image of him!"

"Erik, you need to calm yourself," he warned him and Erik shook his head, ignoring Charles' advice as he grabbed onto Clara's wrist tightly and she yelped in pain.

"What are you doing?" she snapped. "Let go of me!"

"Erik," Charles warned.

"What's he planning?" Erik snapped at her, his face close to hers. "What is he going to do?"

"I don't know," Clara spoke, the pain of Erik's grasp hurting her with immensity. "I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie!"

"Let her go," Charles demanded, ever the voice of reason as he pushed Erik from Clara, standing in front of her and glaring at the man he stood opposite. "She is telling you the truth Erik. Now I suggest you go and calm down. Leave this to me."

Erik stormed off as Raven remained mute in the background, Charles silently communicating with her to go inside where it was warmer as he took hold of Clara's wrist, looking at it delicately to make sure Erik hadn't done too much damage.

"We should get you somewhere warm," Charles decided and Clara followed him into an open door which revealed a small room with an armchair inside of it. He sat down on the sofa, picking up a blanket from it and handing it to the girl. She smiled weakly in thanks and placed it around her shoulders.

"What was Erik talking about?" she wondered. "I understand it is something to do with my father but I do not know what is happening. One minute he was on the boat and the next he fell from it and then there was the US coastguard." She blabbered on and Charles couldn't help but grin inside. He had met a fellow babbler.

"I understand this must be confusing for you Clara," he promised her but she spoke before he could say anything else.

"How did you know my name?" she wondered. "I never told you it."

"I understand you are aware of mutants?" he spoke, looking into her mind and she nodded once.

"You're one of them, aren't you?" she checked. "How else would you know?"

"I am a telepath," he informed her. "I can read your mind. That was why I knew you did not understand anything of what Erik was saying about your father."

"You mean...you read my mind?" she asked wearily and Charles smiled lightly at her.

"You don't need to be so worried. I won't read it unless you want me to in the future," he assured her. "I can also control your mind if I wanted to. But you aren't a mutant, are you?"

"No," Clara admitted. "I am very confused however. What does Erik have to do with my father?"

"I think that is a possible question for another day," Charles coughed lightly, his hair dripping into his face.

"I need to know," Clara said. "He has never mentioned Erik before...in fact...he rarely tells me anything..."

"I think there is a reason for that Clara," Charles promised her. "Would you mind if I were to read your mind?"

"Why?" Clara asked, her eyebrows raised at Charles as he saw her begin to shiver.

"I need to know everything which you know about your father," he replied, his voice soft.

"But why?" she asked him again. "I don't understand."

"I promise you I shall make everything clear to you in the morning," Charles swore to her. "For now I need you to try and sleep. You're exhausted and it shall be less stressful for you when I read your thoughts."

"How can I sleep at a time like this?" she asked him and he moved from the sofa, kneeling beside it as he nodded at the empty cushion.

"As soon as your head hits the cushion then you shall feel tiredness dawn upon you," he spoke quietly. "You can trust me Clara."

...

A/N: So...let me know what you think about it and if I should continue! Thank you!


	2. Chapter 2

"She was telling you the truth," Charles informed Erik half an hour later as they docked in the harbour, the two men were still sopping wet and shivering as they stood on the deck and looked over the railings onto the bright lights of shore. Erik remained staring out to the lights whilst Charles looked at the man with intent and wonder. "I know how much getting to Shaw means to you Erik but his daughter is not the way forward."

"I don't care if she doesn't know anything," Erik hissed. "She's his daughter Charles. Can you not see the problem here?"

"I am aware there is a problem," Charles nodded. "Evidentially there is a problem as to what we should do with her."

"What do you mean?" Erik cocked a brow in wonder, finally looking back at Charles who sighed once.

"Do we return her to Shaw or do we take her with us?" Charles asked. "I do not believe she is in any immediate danger being by Shaw's side. She does not know of his schemes and he has always treated her well."

"We could use her," Erik suggested, his eyes gleaming as he spoke to Charles. "We could use her to lure Shaw out."

"Blackmail is not an option my friend," Charles told him dangerously. "We are not using her as a pawn in a chess match."

"But if we don't then he could end up having Checkmate," Erik replied with haste as a small cough was heard and the two men turned to see Moira stood before them.

"We're ready to descend the ship," she informed them. "We need to go to the facility where we were supposed to go to in the first place."

"Thank you Moira," Charles nodded and the woman went back to speaking to someone else as people left the ship.

"You bring her if you want to Charles," Erik snapped quickly. "Just don't think I am staying near here."

...

"I believe the telepath has her," Emma Frost informed Sebastian as he sat in the submarine, a scotch in his hands and his eyes full of emotion. Worry, fear and concern were the obvious ones playing on his usually smooth features. Emma took a seat next to him, her hand resting on top of his arm as he looked at her, forcing a smile onto his face.

"Well she doesn't know anything which could hurt her, does she?" he checked and Emma nodded in agreement. "Or anything which could hurt us."

"She knows nothing of our plan and neither does the telepath," Emma promised. "I don't think we have anything to worry about."

"I would worry about Clara's safety," Shaw drawled, his words meticulously chosen as he downed the remained of his scotch and handed the empty glass to Emma, "but they're on the good side. They wouldn't hurt her without knowing they had me to deal with. Now I could use another glass my dear Emma...and a little ice wouldn't go amiss."

...

"I don't see why I have to come," Clara informed Charles as she and he stood beside the black car in the harbour. The girl had her arms wrapped around her as she shivered in the cold air. Charles sighed once, running a hand through his hair. Erik was sat in the car, glaring out of the front window whilst Raven lounged in the back, patting her hands on her lap. "I'm not a mutant and I don't know anything."

"This may be true," Charles agreed with her. "But your father has gone missing and you have no means of making your way back to him. You are cold and have no other clothes or money to help you on your own. I think it would be sensible for you to come back with us."

_Make her get in the car or I will drag her into it screaming_ Erik silently communicated with Charles who shot him a dirty look through the window and then looked back to Clara.

"You can trust me," he promised her. "I shan't allow anyone to hurt you."

"Well where are we going?" she asked as Charles opened the door, his hand resting onto the small of her back as he guided her softly into the vehicle and she moved under his intense stare.

"Somewhere safe," he promised her. "It is called the Division X Facility."

...

Clara was shown to a room where she could rest as soon as they reached the Division X facility. She had been offered a tour around the area but Charles could sense her reluctance and he decided that speaking for her was the best option. She sat down in the modern room, placing on some clothes which had been brought to her as hers were well and truly wet and ruined. It wasn't until later on in the evening when she heard a knock on her door and saw Charles enter.

"I just thought I would come to see how you were holding up," he informed her, lurking at the back of the room as Clara stood up from the large bed, straightening out the short skirt on her legs.

"Apart from going crazy from the wonder of what is going on?" she checked with him and nodded once. "I'm fine."

"I can see this must be a trying time," he admitted to her and she looked at him.

"It would not be so bad if you just told me what was going on," she replied in a whisper.

"I fear it may cause you to be upset," he replied, his hands moving into the pockets of his grey suit and Clara shook her head quickly.

"It can't be as bad as wondering what is happening," she promised him and he looked at the book on the bed which she had picked out from a bookcase in her room.

"I gather you're a History major," he spoke. She nodded at him.

"Yes," she replied. "Please don't try to change the subject."

"Fine," Charles said. "You may want to sit down."

She did so slowly, pulling down the blouse she wore which was too tight for her and she crossed her legs, waiting for an explanation.

"We believe your father has plans with the USA and the Soviet Union," Charles began, pacing up and down the room. "I am sure you know of the climate which we live in and we believe that your father is enhancing that."

"What?" Clara snapped. "You think he is trying to cause a war? Why on earth would he do that?"

"We don't know yet," Charles replied. "We had hoped that you may have an idea."

"This is rubbish," Clara spoke, standing up quickly and moving over to the doorway. Charles stepped forward quickly, grabbing onto her arm before she could leave the room and she turned back to look at him.

"Deep down you knew something was happening," he spoke softly. "You wondered what your father had been plotting but you don't want to believe this. You don't want to think the worst of your father."

"My father may not be perfect," Clara spoke, her eyes searching Charles', "but he would not want to cause World War Three."

"Think about it Clara," Charles said. "He met with Colonel Hendry and persuaded him to work against the Soviet's, didn't he?"

"Colonel Hendry?" Clara raised a brow and Charles let go of her arm, seeing she wasn't going anywhere and he nodded at her. "He was on the boat...my father mentioned him..."

"I realise this cannot be easy," Charles spoke softly. "But I am telling you the truth. I know you find it hard to believe a complete stranger over your own flesh and blood but I would not lie to you."

"Why would you not?" she asked him.

"I looked into your mind," he spoke. "I saw how alone you have felt. How not being a mutant makes you feel different. I have seen how you have felt isolated from your father for years and had no idea how to change it and I do not want to add to the hurt by lying to you."

Clara remained quiet, looking down from Charles as his pale hand moved out to her, holding onto her cheek until she looked back at him and he allowed a smile to grace his features.

"What about Erik?" she whispered. "Why did he want him dead?"

"If I tell you that then I fear for you Clara," he spoke. "You know nothing of your father's past, do you?"

"He was a lecturer," she said in a whisper. "He lectured in History but had to stop because of the war and ever since then he has had multiple businesses."

Charles remained quiet for a second, trying to stop himself from controlling Clara's mind to make her feel more relaxed and clam about everything which was about to happen. But doing that would not help her.

"I am afraid everything which he has told you has been a lie my dear."

...

A/N: So thanks to all the Alerts which I have received so far. Please do review and let me know what you think!


	3. Chapter 3

"It took you less than half an hour to run," Charles exclaimed, his slender hands folded into his trousers pockets whilst he rested against the brick wall of Division X. He looked at the brunette as she walked past him and she suddenly stopped, her eyes shutting for a moment and she turned around to look at the telepath.

"You controlled my mind Charles," she spoke. "I simply enquired about Erik and your answer was to control my mind and make me fall asleep. Do you have any idea how many times things have been kept from me?"

"I do as a matter of fact," Charles said as he casually sauntered over to her, standing away from her for a moment.

"Well then you should know I am becoming fed up of people lying to me," she replied in a snarl and Charles shook his head.

"So where were you planning to go?"

"I don't know," she shrugged. "I need to find my father and ask him about this. It can't be true Charles."

"Yet it is," Charles contradicted her as the door opened to the building and Erik appeared, his face solemn looking when he saw the pair of them.

"Interrupting something, was I?" he wondered, a brown brow raised on his forehead and his eyes glaring at Clara.

"I was just stopping Clara from making the same mistake as you my friend," Charles spoke clearly.

"I don't need anything Charles," Erik declared, his hand slicing through the air to prove he could cut people off. "I don't need anyone."

"Shaw has friends," Charles said as Erik began to walk away. "You could use some too."

Erik stood still for that second, his hands clenching into fists as he took in Charles' words. Of course the telepath was right but Erik didn't want to admit it. He was far too proud.

...

Erik stalked off into the middle of the night as Charles took it upon himself to read his mind for a moment and he pleaded for him to come back but Erik continued to wander off. He was determined to make his own path regardless of how dangerous it would be for him. Clara remained stuck to the spot she was in whilst Charles placed his hand onto his forehead.

"Please say that you're not planning on running off into the middle of the night," he begged her and she folded her arms, looking at him.

"Why would that bother you?" she asked him in wonder.

"Because I would have to come after you. I don't like the thought of a pretty little thing like you alone in the night," he spoke to her and she laughed once, rolling her eyes as she did so.

"Was that an attempt at flirting?" she asked him and Charles chuckled once, a hand pushing through his hair before he looked to the floor and his eyes then shifted back onto Clara.

"I thought I might try to diffuse the tension," he replied with a shrug and she nodded once.

"I suppose it worked," she assured him.

"So would you please come back inside? Because if you don't then I will make you."

...

It was the next morning when Erik knew that Charles was to be in a meeting with an agent and he wandered down the halls, looking for him. As he walked he turned the corner, abruptly bumping into a small figure. The force of his pace took her off guard and she fell to the ground. As he began to search for the manners his mother had raised him with his eyes narrowed. She rose to her feet by herself, pulling her skirt down and finally looking at Erik.

"Sorry," she muttered to him. She had to admit that he was an imposing man. There was something about him which scared her terribly. And she didn't know why he hated her so much. Erik moved a hand to his cheek and itched it and then she saw the inside of his arm. She saw the numbers.

214782

Erik noticed her looking at them and he dropped his arm, hiding the permanent engravings before he looked at her.

"I take it you know what they are," he said, spite in his voice and he rolled the sleeves of his turtle neck jumper down.

"I have an idea," she whispered and Erik looked at her again. She may have been the spitting image of her father but her mannerisms were completely different. She was weaker than he was and clearly not as evil. But despite that he still could not look at her without inciting hatred.

"I lived through the war in Germany," he stated. "Your father was there to see me through it."

"What are you talking about?" she asked him, her eyes scrunched together with confusion. "My father has lived in America his whole life."

"No," Erik snapped quickly, not daring her to defy anything which he said. "He was a Doctor in Germany. And he was my creator."

Before Clara had a chance to ask any more questions from Erik he was running off down the hall. Clara watched after him, seeing him hit the wall in frustration and then push his hair back into the place from which it had fallen.

...

It was evening time when Clara finally saw Charles again in the recreation room where Raven was. She had felt the blonde girl watching her for a while and she wondered why. Charles excused himself after a few moments and that just left Raven and Clara. He had sensed Raven wanted to speak to Clara alone. He didn't know why but he completed her request and left the two women on their own.

"You say you feel odd," Raven began, crossing her legs as she sat on the sofa and she leant forward, her elbows resting on her knees. "Why?"

"Why do I feel odd?" Clara responded.

"You should feel normal. You don't have to put up with being a mutant...you can be around normal humans and look like everyone else...why would you feel like an outcast?" Rave was quite simply confused. She could not understand the girl in front of her.

"I've lived with mutants...I've never felt like I was a part of anything..." she shrugged. "My father always treated me as though I was different. It is as though I wasn't worth being told anything."

"But society accepts you," Raven exclaimed, hitting her hand against her knee.

"But being a part of society is going along with everyone else."

"At least you don't look like this," Raven said and she transformed to her natural blue self and Clara's mouth fell open as she took in her appearance. "Society would never accept this and I could not truly be part of it."

"I can see why you feel like you don't belong," Clara admitted and Raven shifted back, chuckling lightly and running a hand through her blonde hair.

"Charles doesn't understand how I feel," Raven dejectedly sighed. "He thinks that I am fine as long as I stay like I am...his talent doesn't make him feel like a reject."

"I don't think it is fair that you should feel like you do," Clara nodded once.

"I would do anything to be like you," Raven said, her head bowing and her eyes shutting. "I would give anything to feel normal."

"Trust me," Clara whispered. "I am anything but normal."

...

"It isn't particularly safe in the night air," Charles spoke loud enough for Clara to hear as she stood in the courtyard and sat down on the bench. Charles took a seat beside her and she shrugged, shivering in the air slightly.

"I think I am safe," she replied. "My father would only want me back. I think it is only you he is against."

"I suppose you're right," he nodded in agreement.

"What did my father do to Erik?" she blurted out. "He told me he had met him in Germany and then I remembered that he had spoke in German on the boat. Don't lie to me anymore Charles."

"I never lied," Charles shook his head. "I just tried to keep the truth from you."

"Well don't bother anymore," she begged and Charles sighed.

"Your father was a doctor in World War Two. He was not a lecturer as you believed...I am sure you know what Doctors did Clara...you studied History for three years."

Clara remained quiet, her eyes looking onto the grass which was turning moist in the damp air and her eyes clouded over whilst Charles shrugged out of his jacket, slowly draping it over her shoulders.

"He wouldn't have wanted you to believe he was part of that Clara. You were born near the end of the war...the only life you know is the one here in America," he whispered and she shook her head.

"Erik is a mutant, isn't he?" she checked with Charles. "That's why my father chose him?"

"You believe it to have happened?" Charles asked softly, his hands still on her shoulders which were covered by the jacket.

"I think the evidence is stacked against him," she nodded once. "I don't think Erik...how could he Charles? How could anyone? He would only have been a child, wouldn't he?"

"Yes," Charles whispered and Clara shifted closer to the telepath, her face near his shoulder. "I don't have any way to make this feel better Clara and I don't know what to suggest but...maybe staying here...it would be the better option..."

"I don't-"

Before Clara had a chance to say anything back to Charles she felt something grab hold of her arm and in a blink of an eye her surroundings had changed. She was stood on plush white carpet as a red hand held onto her arm. She looked up and saw Azazel smirking down at her as she reclaimed her arm as her own. She looked into the room and saw him, a different wave of emotions moving over her.

"I had Emma look into your mind," he informed her. "It was rather difficult to track you down."

"She knows," Emma suddenly spoke up whilst Clara didn't know what to say in return to any of them and Shaw raised a brow before sighing once.

"It is in the past Clara," he assured her.

"It was sick," she said quickly back to him. "How could you do that? Erik was just a child...and you...and now you want a nuclear war?"

"You misunderstand," Shaw promised her. "I made Erik the man he is today-"

"-You tortured him!" she yelled at her father. "You hurt him and now he wants you dead!"

"I doubt that will happen," Shaw chuckled once. "I had hoped this would never be found out."

"The telepath told her," Emma decided and Clara glared at her. "He has been very comforting."

"Has he?" Shaw asked, his voice curious. "I take it that is his jacket?"

"Don't change the subject," Clara snapped. "Charles has told me the truth and I have known him for a few days. I have known you for my whole life and everything you have said has been a lie. I used to look up to you for God's sake!" she yelled and Shaw nodded to dismiss the other three from the room, favouring a private chat with his daughter rather than anything else.

"I have done everything for you-"

"-You've had me wrapped around your little finger and I didn't know what kind of a person you were."

"I am the kind of person who has looked after you Clara," he replied. "And I shall continue to do so when mutants rule the world."

"What?" she snapped back.

"All shall become apparent soon enough," he promised her. "Now sit down and be silent Clara. The submarine is on course and I need silence."

"Excuse me?" Clara snapped. "Do you honestly think I am going to stay here with you?"

"I don't think you have a choice," he mused. "Now sit down."

"No," she snapped. "I cannot stay here...knowing who you are..."

Clara began to make her move to the door as Shaw grabbed onto her arm, hauling her back to him. She struggled in his grasp as he grabbed onto her other wrist, keeping her still.

"I shall not tell you again Clara," he warned her. "Now sit down."

Shaw released his daughter as she glared at him with hate.

"I would rather drown in the sea than stay in the same room as a spineless, petty bastard like you." She spoke each word with slow and deliberate hatred and Shaw looked at her once, sighing to the ground before his hand made contact with her cheek. The noise echoed around the room and Clara's head turned to the side.

"Now sit down Clara," he replied. Clara did as she was told this time, settling herself onto a cushion on the plush sofa and Sebastian took a seat behind the mahogany desk.

"You can take the telepath's jacket off Clara," he informed her, his eyes not looking into hers. "The odour is not desirable."


	4. Chapter 4

"You do understand that it will be for the best that she is back with Shaw, do you not?" Erik checked with Charles as they sat on the famous steps in Washington, a chessboard in front of them. Erik was lounged out on the white material, his legs outstretched as his elbow supported the top half of his weight. Charles remained with his legs crossed, his body angled towards the board as he looked out onto the setting sun.

"I don't see how it can be for the best," Charles replied. "I can't find her thoughts anywhere."

"Shaw will have made sure of that," Erik chuckled once. "But now that he has her back he won't be looking for us. He can go back to doing what he was doing and we can go back to trying to get rid of him."

"You are forgetting one issue my friend," Charles replied, moving a pawn directly onto the next square, knocking Erik's down before he looked back at the man. "He already knows where we are. He knew where to find Clara and so he will know where to find us. I don't think he will strike until the correct moment though."

"And when will that be?" Erik raised a brow whilst Charles shrugged.

"Who knows?" he simply enquired as Erik adjusted the collar of his leather brown jacket and moved another piece across the board before smirking lightly once.

"You do know this game is not fair?" he checked with Charles. "Who can ever win a game of chess against a telepath?"

"You raise an excellent point," Charles allowed a small nod to be made as he finished the game off. "I have never lost once and I don't think I will now."

Erik chuckled to himself and ran a hand through his hair, sitting back and resting on both elbows whilst Charles tidied the game away.

"You're pondering my friend," he stated.

"I thought you said you would not read my mind?" Erik raised a brow. Charles shook his head, unbuttoning the top button to his shirt.

"I didn't," he promised. "It is written across your face. Do you care to share?"

"It isn't anything important really," Erik promised. "I was just wondering how two people can be so different."

"Ah," Charles simply allowed a small gasp to escape his lips as he nodded.

"I take it you know what I am talking about." Erik complained. Charles knowing his mind was becoming increasingly annoying.

"You were wondering how Clara can be so different from her father, am I correct?"

"Yes."

"It is to do with the genetic mutations," Charles spoke, his hand making a circular motion as he spoke, "there is a gene which causes our personalities to differ. She clearly did not inherit those genes from her father and takes after her mother. But...I suppose there is something different and not to do with genes."

"And what is that?" Erik replied. "I thought genes made who we were?"

"They do," Charles nodded. "But the knowledge of knowing right from wrong is also essential."

Erik remained quiet, not knowing what to say in response to Charles' theory. Instead he pursed his lips and continued looking out onto the sunset.

...

"I need you to go to Russia as I have a matter of important business to take care of," Shaw informed Emma as she walked back into the living area of the submarine. Clara remained seated on the white sofa, her legs crossed and her face etched with fear. She was scared of her own father.

"If that is what you wish," Emma nodded. Shaw agreed, moving the helmet he had been holding in his hands around his palms and Emma excused herself once again to go back to Azazel and Riptide.

"I realise I have yet to tell you what this is my love," Shaw said and Clara gulped loudly as she heard him call her his love. She closed her eyes, daring to look across to him again as he moved across the room, sitting down next to her, his hand resting on her thigh.

"I apologise for hurting you earlier Clara," he whispered, his thumb soothingly stroking the material of her skirt. "You must understand that I never wanted to hurt you. You just pushed me too far my darling."

Clara remained quiet, allowing her father to kiss her gently on the top of her head as he set the helmet down by his side.

"What I did in the past is in the past," he whispered reassuringly. "What I did to Erik was something which I had to do. I helped him to become the man he is today and I would say I created a splendid thing, would you not agree?"

Clara remained quiet, thinking about what he was saying to her as her eyes remained straight ahead at the mahogany desk. She didn't dare look into his questioning eyes.

"You tortured him father," she replied in a whisper. "You lied to me and you hurt people."

"And for that I shall never be the same in your eyes, I realise," Shaw nodded hastily. "But I am still your father. A lot of people have a past life they want to keep quiet. I did it to protect you. Erik was someone who I knew could become an extraordinary man. I helped him achieve it."

"Well he seems hell bent on killing you because of it," Clara muttered.

"He will soon see we're the winning side and the telepath is on the losing side," Shaw said cockily. "Anyone can see that."

...

"I don't see why he couldn't have left you on the submarine," Emma complained as she sat in the descending helicopter along with Clara who was looking out the window. Shaw had demanded Emma to take Clara with her to Russia and the telepath could do nothing but agree to his plans. Shaw didn't want her with him when he attacked Division X. He had spent the last few days trying to win her back to him and she would have changed her mind back straight away if she saw his plans. No, he decided going with Emma was the safest option. Leaving her on the sub would give her a chance to escape and he knew she had thought about it.

"I don't see why you all can't leave me alone," Clara snapped and Emma glared at her as the copter stopped on the grass. Clara stood up and followed Emma. She smoothed out the navy dress she wore with a blue Mac on top of it. She successfully managed to get her heel stuck in the sodden grass and she swore in her head.

"And who do we have here?" a tall burly man asked Emma, his eyes fixed on Clara as Emma tried not to roll her eyes.

"Clara Shaw," she spoke. "I am on babysitting duty for Sebastian whilst he works."

"She looks far too old to be babysat," he spoke, winking at Clara as the young girl tried not to feel her stomach churn at the action.

"Well if you lovely ladies would like to follow me inside then I am sure we can come to some kind of arrangement."

...

"Emma is looking after Clara," Charles spoke, the binoculars in his hands firmly whilst Erik gritted his teeth. "Shaw is busy with something apparently..."

"Well we can't go in," Moira said quietly. "We could risk starting a World War on our own."

"You can't go in," Erik contradicted. "But I'm not CIA."

...

"Men," Emma rolled her eyes, looking at the hallucinating as Clara stood on the other side of the room, her hands holding themselves and her weight rested against the smooth wall.

"So what do you plan to do now?" Clara wondered.

"I don't think it is any of your business," Emma muttered back, her eyes going wide as she glared at the biscuit she popped into her mouth and bit down on.

"Of course not," Clara grumbled.

"She does pose an interesting question though," a sudden voice rang out into the room and the sets of eyes looked to the doorway where Charles and Erik stood.

"Go to sleep," Charles demanded the man on the bed as Emma stood up, shifting into diamond form.

"Don't try to read my mind Charles," she snapped at the other telepath who bent over in pain at her blocking him out. "We both know you won't get anywhere."

Without warning Emma began to move quickly but was intercepted by Charles and Erik. Erik was the one to act quickly, the metal of the bed moving from its natural curls as it wrapped around Emma and squeezed her tightly.

"That's enough Erik," Charles demanded but the metal continued to pull tighter. "Erik!"

"There," Erik said dejectedly, wishing he could continue with his torture. "She won't be shifting into diamond form anytime soon."

Charles bent down, his fingers pressed against his temple as he looked into Emma's mind for a few seconds and his eyes flew open suddenly and he backed away from her.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" she checked.

"This is far worse than we ever imagined," Charles told Erik. "The CIA will want to question her."

"I doubt it," she drawled.

...

"What does he plan to do?" Clara asked Charles as they sat in the car on the way to the airport. Erik drove the stolen Russian vehicle as Charles sat in the passenger seat and Clara leaned forward in the back seat. "He told me he wants mutants to take over the world but he never said how."

"Radiation," Charles told her. "The nuclear radiation which destroys humans will only make mutants stronger...he wants to be the leader of his whole world and creating a nuclear war will give him the option to do that."

"Jesus Christ," Clara whispered and sat back down in her seat, her eyes looking out the window as Charles looked at her in the rear view mirror.

"When you were with him did he say anything else which he plans to do?" Charles asked her, his head turning back to look at her.

"No," she shook her head. "He just...he told me...about his past..."

"I am sure that was an interesting story," Erik couldn't help but speak his mind.

...

"He told me that he made Erik the man he is today," Clara whispered to Charles as she sat by his side in the waiting room of the airport terminal. Erik was wandering off on his own, his thoughts deep and Charles didn't want to interrupt him. "He said that without him then Erik would not be exceptional."

"Of course he would say that," Charles scoffed. "He thinks he is Erik's creator."

"I know it may sound ludicrous," Clara whispered to Charles. "But...I want to hate him Charles...and I do hate him...I hate what he has done..."

"But he is your father and you cannot help but love him," he simply told her. "He has been there for you for your whole life and you feel it is your duty to still love him. That makes you human Clara."

"And I know Erik can't look at me without seeing my father and for that he hates me," she replied. "I can understand now...but he can't go through with this...the worldwide domination which he has planned."

"We don't plan to let him," Charles said determinedly. "You are welcome to stay with is for as long as you need to Clara. I felt completely useless after you had vanished right from my arms."

"I cannot say that I was thrilled," she complained in a grumble. "Moira is looking at you again."

"Yes," Charles drawled, turning red slightly and looking down at his lap. "I am aware. I just don't plan to encourage it."

"I can give you two a moment if you like?" she teased Charles and he grinned but looked back at her.

"You don't need to be such a tease," he informed her.

"I was being serious," she replied, feigning innocence.

"Of course you were my dear Clara," he chuckled. "Of course you were."

...

A/N: So if anyone is reading this please let me know what you think! Ta!


	5. Chapter 5

Charles sat beside Clara on the flight back to the USA and he looked out of the corner of his eye to see that she was still sleeping soundly. He only wished he could do the same. Erik had taken the last remaining seat to the back of the plane, not intending on keeping anyone company during the flight or striking up conversation. Charles could see Moira sat down the aisle, a magazine open in her lap yet her thoughts were anywhere but the perfume bottle being advertised.

_I don't normally like to intrude but in this instance you are wrong Moira, _Charles struck up a silent conversation with her. She moved her head up but shook her head, remaining seated and looking at the seat in front of her.

_I thought you would be reading my thoughts, _She drawled. _And I just worry Charles. She is his daughter. Would it not be natural for him to place a spy into our circles? She is the perfect innocent as you can see._

_I've read her mind Moira, _Charles shot back quickly_. She doesn't know anything and she cannot hide anything from me as she has no mutant powers to do so. Can you please just trust me on this?_

Charles picked up on the Agent's sigh but he saw her nod her head weakly from where she was sat and he leant back in his seat. He closed his eyes for a second, his mind wandering around the plane to see if anyone had any interesting thoughts until he found Erik.

_How are you holding up back there my friend? _He enquired.

_I would be even better if you would stop reading my mind, _Erik snapped back at Charles who chuckled lightly.

_You don't need to be so defensive Erik. I am simply trying to help you. I just wanted to make sure you were alright._

_I'm fine, _Erik replied after a moment of hesitation and Charles didn't respond, sensing that Erik was not in the mood for conversation of any kind. He knew what Shaw planned to do and he was determined to find him. He was almost in his grasp and he knew that there would soon be nothing to stop him from taking revenge. When that moment came then Charles had to convince him to be the better man.

"Are we almost there?" Clara's small voice suddenly asked Charles and the telepath turned his head to look at her, a smile present and he nodded once at her.

"Another hour or so I believe," he promised her. "How are you feeling?"

"You don't need to ask me that every ten minutes," she grinned and Charles chuckled, looking out of the window he was sat next to. Clara was near the aisle before the seats continued on along the plane.

"I am just a concerned being," he shrugged.

"I've noticed," she nodded. "You're always trying to find the good in people."

"I believe there is good in everyone," Charles replied. "It is just how you use it."

"You're so philosophical," Clara responded. "And I've been thinking."

"I know you have," Charles spoke, his teeth gritting themselves together as his face turned solemn. "I had tried not to read your mind but your thought process made it too difficult for me not to do so."

Clara remained quiet, pushing her long curly hair behind her ears as she looked down into her lap, ignoring Charles' intense stare.

"It makes sense," she spoke determinedly which caused Charles to blink multiple times. She was going to push her idea along whether he liked it or not it would seem. "My father wants me back and you want to get to him. I should just go back and then you could tap into my mind, couldn't you? Emma is no longer a problem and she would have no idea."

"Do you think it is worth putting you back with him?" Charles hissed, speaking quietly so not to disturb or worry the other passengers on the flight. "I saw how he hit you Clara."

"And then he apologised," she said.

"It does not excuse the fact that he treats you like you are not worthy of being in his presence," Charles shook his head. "It would not be safe for you to go back."

"I am telling you that he wouldn't hurt me," she snapped at Charles, gaining stares from other people on the flight as she snapped. Charles looked at them, silently communicating with them to go to sleep and forget they heard anything.

"This is a different Clara to the one we have previously seen," Charles examined her and she rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she complained.

"You have rarely rose your voice," Charles told her, contemplating what to say next to her as she shrugged at him once.

"I guess realising your father's a monster does this to you then," she sighed, her eyebrows raised.

"I am sorry," Charles told her. "I can imagine it is anything but nice to realise what kind of a person your father is."

"No," she shook her head. "I...well...just no...it is not nice."

...

"Raven!" Charles exclaimed when he reached Division X and saw the blonde stood in front of him. He quickly hugged her tightly, letting her go but keeping an arm around her waist as he looked onto the destroyed building and the other mutants who were sat on a bench.

"It was Shaw," Raven informed her brother. "Angel left him and he killed Darwin."

"He said he was looking for mutants to join him," Alex piped up, his hands clenched into fists as Sean looked up, his eyes drooping from a lack of sleep. "He also mentioned something about his daughter being there...but it was only brief..."

Alex, Hank and Sean all looked at Charles, waiting for an explanation. Clara hadn't even met these mutants. She had been with her father when they had been found and clearly no one had said anything about her during her absence.

"See what you caused?" Erik's voice suddenly snapped at Clara, his face inches from hers and his teeth bared. Clara recoiled from him as Erik's stare intensified. Charles dropped Raven from around her waist and looked at Erik.

"That's enough," he snapped, sensing Erik wanted to do nothing more than choke Clara with the chair around her neck. "I said leave her alone Erik."

"She caused this Charles," Erik replied. "If she wasn't here then he wouldn't have found us and he wouldn't have killed Darwin. Everyone inside that building would still be alive."

"This would have happened anyway," Charles spoke strongly, walking over to the man and stepping in front of him, Clara moving behind the telepath as he did so. "Shaw would have attacked the base whether she was here or not. You are trying to pick a fight my friend but it is with the wrong person."

...

"Does Charles know that you are moping in here?" Raven's voice caused Clara to jump as she sat on the windowsill and looked over the grounds of green lawn. She looked back at Raven, hugging her knees tighter to her chest as the blonde picked up a book from the bookshelf and then placed it back after seeing the amount of dust living on it.

"He's working with Hank I believe," Clara responded. "He doesn't need me here anyway. I told him I would be fine on my own."

"That's the problem with Charles," Raven said, her voice going an octave higher. "He doesn't think anyone should have to be on their own. There is also the fact that I have never seen him so protective around anyone before."

Clara remained quiet for a moment or two, wondering what to say in reply to that statement.

"Excuse me?" Clara asked Raven.

"I've seen the way he looks at you," Raven crossed her arms and rolled her eyes, sitting on the desk next to the window whilst Clara continued to look out the glass pane. "I've known Charles the longest out of anyone and I know how he works."

"Nothing is going on," Clara shook her head quickly; managing to look back into Raven's questioning eyes. "He's just kind. Anyway, I'm the daughter of the enemy, aren't I?"

"Yeah," Raven said quickly. "And everyone in this house hates you because of it."

"I can tell," Clara muttered.

"Anyway, you have two people who don't hate you," Raven shrugged. "To be honest I think you're alright and Charles thinks you're more than alright."

Clara looked back out the window to where Charles was running in his grey sweat suit and he was clapping Hank on the back, a large smile on his face as he continued to pant for breath quickly. Raven peered from behind her and patted her once on the shoulder. Charles looked into the glass, still smiling as he waved at them once, wondering what the pair of them were discussing.

...

"What are you doing up so late at night?" Charles asked when he saw Clara in the kitchen. She was picking up a glass from the sink and swirling it out as she turned to look at Charles who was going into his fridge.

"I had a nightmare," she muttered. "I thought I would just come and get a glass of water."

"Is this the recurring nightmare you have every so often?" Charles raised a brow, examining the vintage wine in the cool square and Clara poured the water from the sink and into her glass quickly.

"Did you see that when you read my mind?" she enquired.

"Yes," Charles replied. "It keeps coming back to you because you know what is going to happen, don't you?"

"No," she snapped back at him, the glass having more water poured into it. "I wake up before I can see anything."

"But you know what you will see, don't you?" Charles checked, his finger moving to his temple.

"I don't know," she mumbled.

"Do you want to know?" Charles replied softly, placing the wine onto the side as Clara looked into his eyes for a moment.

"I don't know," she muttered once again and Charles walked over to her, his hand slowly pushing a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. "It's been bugging me...but..."

"I think deep down you know what you're going to see," Charles spoke softly. "We don't have to talk about. I can tell it is distressing you...I have this bottle of wine and no one to drink it with."

"I've never drank alcohol," Clara simply told him and he grinned.

"Well there is a first for everything."


	6. Chapter 6

"So this is where you grew up," Clara observed when Charles had moved onto the balcony. He placed the wine on the ground by his side and settled himself down onto the concrete floor, his hands resting out behind him as Clara stood in the doorway.

"Yes," Charles replied. "What do you think to it?"

"I think it is very different," she replied, sitting opposite Charles as he grinned, opening the bottle and pouring two glasses.

"I haven't lived here in ages," he told her. "My mother left it to me when she passed away. I much preferred life in Oxford."

"Oxford?" Clara blinked rapidly, taking the glass he held out to her and she sipped delicately on it. "When did you move over there?"

"I didn't move exactly," he pushed his hair out from his face. "I went to study at Oxford University and ended up becoming a Professor."

"What in?"

"Genetics," he said and she grinned once, trying not to spit the sweet tasting wine from her mouth as she coughed and looked at him.

"Of course it would be genetics," she managed to say through her raspy voice. Charles looking into her mind for a second but he didn't say anything to her and instead he looked onto the night sky which was full of stars. Clara copied his actions, the wine glass still in her hand whilst Charles easily drank his alcoholic beverage.

"I went to Oxford once," she remembered, patting the bottom of the glass. "Father took me when I was little. He said he had business there. I don't know why I told you that. You already knew."

"You don't need to conceal everything," Charles said. "I may have looked into your memory but I do not know everything which you have felt and thought about. I know the facts and that is all."

Clara looked into his blue eyes, wondering what was truly going on. Everything seemed to have progressed so quickly and she couldn't understand it. She couldn't grasp anything which was happening.

"Do you know when nothing feels real?" she asked Charles. "All of this...I can't understand Charles...I can't understand any of it..."

"What is it you can't understand?" Charles asked her, sitting up and leaning against the railing of the balcony as Clara shifted her cotton pyjamas down her body and sat on her knees. "You can talk to me my dear."

"I know," she nodded. "I just can't understand how my father could have done this. All I want is the memory of how it used to be."

"I realise that darling," he promised her. "Things will get better. You have to believe me, okay?"

"How?" she whispered. "The image of my perfect father has been ruined Charles. The things which he has done are disgusting."

"I cannot disagree," Charles' brows raised and he placed his wine glass against his lips. "As long as you know you aren't alone then that is all that counts."

"Oh Charles," Clara chuckled, pushing her hair behind her shoulder and looking onto the floor. She adjusted her position so that she could pull up the large fluffy socks which Raven had leant her onto her thigh and she then pulled the pyjama bottoms down. "I'm not like any of you...I'm different..."

"And?" he cocked a brow, unbuttoning the top button of his purple shirt in the cold breeze. "Just because you're not a mutant does not mean that I intend to cast you aside."

"You should," she said to him. "I'm in his daughter. I could get you all into big trouble just by being here."

"He can't find us now that he doesn't have his telepath," Charles said quickly. "We're safe until the right time."

"And the right time is war, isn't it?" she checked with him. "You're going to fight against him and then what Charles? What if you lose?"

"Then we do it knowing that we have tried to help the world," he whispered and she shook her head.

"You can be safe in this war," she spoke. "My father wouldn't kill any mutants."

"But it isn't right that he does that and kills humans," Charles responded to her. "It would be entirely selfish for us to do nothing."

"The problem is you think everyone is like Moira," she whispered to him. "You do know that once you expose yourself then most humans will turn against you?"

"It is a risk we have to take," he whispered. "And there are humans who will understand...you do."

"I've grown up with a mutant for a father," she spoke back to him. "He was never happy that I wasn't like him but he took care of me...he still loved me..."

"Humans and mutants should be able to work together," Charles said determinedly.

"I could not agree more," Clara promised him, managing to drink some more of the wine to clench her dry throat. "But the world does not work like that."

The two of them remained quiet for a second after that before Clara spoke again, her voice back to the quiet tone which Charles had come to understand.

"My mother didn't understand," she whispered. "Before she died...I knew she couldn't understand mutants. She had openly told me what a bad person my father was and how he was like the devil."

"My mother thought the same about me," Charles whispered. "She could never understand my telepath connection...your mother...she was three when she died, was she not?"

"I was three and one month," she whispered. "She was an American living in the time of the War and then she met my father. When she discovered she was pregnant then she came out to America."

"And Shaw found about you three years later, didn't he?" Charles asked her quietly and she nodded, the wine in her glass taking most of her attention.

"He tried to persuade my mother to give me to him...I think he wanted to see if I was like him but she refused..."

"This is where the nightmare comes into play, isn't it Clara?" Charles whispered and he saw her shake slightly. He placed his hand onto her arm, his thumb lightly stroking her pale flesh. "Your saw your mother murdered, didn't you darling?"

"I don't know," she muttered, flashbacks coming back to her gently as Charles placed a finger to his temple, moving into her mind silently so he could share the memory. "She told me to go to bed but I didn't...I stayed on the staircase...I heard...it sounded like a shot...but then there was a voice and it was taunting..."

"It's okay Clara," Charles promised her, his face in her vision. She was the small girl once again, sat on the top of the steps as Charles was sat on the step behind her, his hand on her shoulder as she looked back into the past.

"There's another shot," Clara whispered. "And a scream...it's so loud..."

"You're okay," he promised in a whisper.

"And then there are footsteps," she whimpers, "I can hear him coming to the bottom of the steps...and then he's there...he's..."

Charles looked over her shoulder, seeing the same thing as Clara did when she was little girl. He was positive it was Shaw stood there. Clara suddenly opened her eyes, looking back into the real world which she now lived in. Charles wiped the moisture from his eyes whilst Clara looked at him.

"He killed her," she whispered, tears rolling down her eyes. "He...how did I not know?"

"Your nightmare has been stopping just before his face comes into vision," Charles whispered to her. "Shaw had Emma wipe the memory from your mind so you couldn't remember...all it took was a little determination to see the thing which you didn't want to see. It is your memory and only you can control it. But deep down you knew it was him all along. You just didn't want to admit it."

Clara remained quiet as did Charles. He slowly stood up, offering her his hand and she looked at it before taking his cold skin and he wiped a tear from her eye, his thumb lingering on her cheek.

"You're nothing like him Clara," he said. "You don't need to worry that you will go down the same path as he did."

"I know," she replied with a nod. "I know."

...

"You seriously underestimate me," Charles informed Clara at six in the morning. He saw her walking down the stone path as he moved out from behind a tree, his eyes showing tiredness as Clara stood still, turning to face him, her arms folded as she did so.

"I was hoping that you would be asleep," she admitted. "Then you wouldn't have been able to read my mind."

"Well you were wrong," he promised her. "How can I sleep knowing what is going to happen today?"

"I had hoped," she simply replied. "I need to go Charles."

"You do know if you're not careful then you will end up as desperate as Erik is," Charles told her in a drawl. "He's your father."

"He killed my mother," she snapped back. "He killed my own mother."

"And killing him won't bring her back."

"I guess Erik and I do have something in common then."

"You're making a mistake," he promised her. "You will never find him anyway."

"I can have a go," she replied. "I know he will be near the embargo line that is for sure."

"I don't want to control your mind Clara," he sighed. "But I will if you continue to think revenge is the best option."

"Why do you even care Charles?" she snapped at him. "I'm not one of you, okay? I'm not part of any of this! No one in that mansion needs my help and no one would miss me if I left!"

"And so I don't count?" he asked her, his voice curt as he tried not to yell at her. "Does nothing that I tell you sink in?"

"Of course it does," she rolled her eyes. "You've told me the truth the whole time Charles and for that I am grateful."

"I am not going to let you go Clara," he informed her. "You will never find him on your own and even if you did then I would not let you do anything rash. You and Erik both need to calm your minds."

"And you need to stay out of my mind," she snapped back.

"I will when this is over," Charles promised her, pressing his finger to his temple as Clara glared at him. "Go to sleep," he demanded from her.

...


	7. Chapter 7

"Clara," a voice suddenly spoke and the brunette opened her eyes, sitting up from the white sofa. She blinked quickly, wondering where Charles had deposited her in his large mansion. She remembered being extremely annoyed that he had decided to use his powers against her. But it wasn't Charles. It was the one person who hated her the most. Erik was stood by the sofa in the living room, his blue and yellow suit on his body as he waited for everyone else to change.

"Nice suit," she muttered and Erik looked down at it.

"Well we can't all experience extreme G force," he hissed back at her. "Charles told me about last night."

"Oh did he?" she asked. "Where is he anyway, I have a bone to pick with him."

"He is getting changed. He was planning on leaving you here whilst we carry out the mission," Erik spoke, folding his arms and Clara stood up, straightening out the blue summer dress she wore as she looked at Erik.

"And so why are you here?" she asked him, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

"It would seem we both want revenge," he told her. "I think you should be coming along on the mission."

"You think I can help you get your revenge because I'm his daughter, don't you?"

"I think you would make an excellent human shield for us," he told her bluntly. Clearly Erik did not dash around the point and preferred to get straight to it.

"I'm coming," Clara told him. "I need to see my father again."

"I thought you would say as much."

...

"No!" Charles snapped. They stood in the airbase after Erik had insisted Clara come with them. He had managed to get her to the airbase and he intended to get her onto the plane but Charles had different thoughts. "She could be killed. She doesn't have mutant powers or anything!"

"You're letting Moira go," Clara pointed out as the agent boarded the plane alone with everyone else. "I don't see why I am any different? If anything I am safer than all of you. He won't kill me and he won't kill you as long as you have me near you!"

"I am not willing to risk it," Charles growled lowly. "You could be hurt by accident."

"She's coming Charles," Erik defended her and Charles glared at his friend.

"You're using her as a pawn to get to Shaw my friend," he hissed. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing."

"She does not mind being used," Erik replied in a slow drawl.

"I mind her being used," Charles spoke. "It is not ethical."

"Ethics have gone out the window Charles," Clara told him.

Erik turned on his heel, walking over to the plane and Clara began to follow his lead but Charles grabbed onto her arm, hauling her back to him, their bodies pressed together as Charles held her arm in midair and she looked into his blue eyes.

"You're not thinking this through," he told her.

"I'm not a child Charles," she replied. "I need to see him...can you please just let me do this?"

"I am only looking out for you Clara," he told her.

"And by me coming then I am looking out for all of you...please..." she begged him and he sighed lightly, shaking his head as he did so.

"I don't like this," he told her. "You're not to leave my side Clara, okay? I will control your mind if I need to okay?"

"Yes," she said, knowing it was the only way that Charles was letting her get onto the plane. "We should maybe be going then."

"Yes," Charles said. "But...I should have done this last night..."

"What?" she wondered right before Charles dropped his lips onto hers. She closed her eyes, wrapping her arms around his neck as he held onto her waist. Clara slowly pulled away from him, letting go of his neck whilst he dropped her waist and smirked at her.

"A little colour to your cheeks is nice," he said and she hit him lightly on the arm.

"Shut up," she complained and Charles chuckled. "Now we had best go."

...

"Are you okay?" Charles checked with Clara as the plan turned upside down and she screamed lightly. His arm flew over her waist and he held her back onto her seat as Erik did the same for Raven. Clara turned pale and felt her heat beat loudly before she nodded at Charles once. Before anyone had a chance to react there was a sudden pop in the small space and then there was another pop. Clara knew what it was before anyone had a chance to react. She felt the slippery red hand close around her wrist whilst she tried to snap from it.

"Clara," Shaw's voice spoke out loudly as he looked at her in the control room. He was pressing on buttons and dials with haste as he saw his daughter look around the room, confusion evident on her face.

"You need to stop this," she told her father quickly. "You need to stop this right now."

"This is only the beginning Clara," he promised her.

"I don't think so," she shook her head. "I know what you did...I know what happened to my mother. I am not going to sit here and listen to you anymore..."

"How did you find out?" Shaw asked. The concern in his voice wasn't evident. He could just have Emma wipe his mind when he gained his favourite telepath back from the CIA.

"I always knew," she told him. "I always knew what you did I just didn't want to think about it."

"Then don't think about it," he simply spoke. "They know the location of the submarine and I need to go and begin my plan...Angel...be a darling and make sure my daughter doesn't leave or try anything would you?"

Clara shook her head, looking at the steps to the top of the submarine and Shaw followed her glance, placing on the helmet he had made as he shook his head, grabbing onto her wrist and dragging her into his living area.

"Not this time baby," he told her as he forced her to sit down on the sofa. She glared at him as Angel stood in the doorway, her arms folded and Clara watched her father disappear behind the large sliding glass door. She sat there, trying to figure out a way to get out of Angel's inquisitive gaze but she came up with nothing. Before she had a chance to do anything more there was the feeling of moving upwards. Clara grabbed onto the back of the sofa for more support, her eyes looking around whilst Angel began to hover in the air, not bumping into anything.

"What the hell is this?" Clara snapped but before she had the chance to say anything more the room began to turn onto its side. Angel flew through the air, grabbing onto the twenty one year old and hovering in the air with her as furniture tipped onto its side. Clara looked onto the ground, her eyes not believing what was happening as the sub fell onto its side, a large bang becoming apparent in the contained area.

"It has to be them," Angel said, dropping Clara and flying from the room. The brunette pulled her matted hair from her cheek and she stood up quickly, seeing the hole in the side of the submarine where Azazel, Riptide and Angel were emerging from. Silently, she snuck up to the side, looking out and across the sandy beach to where a plane had crashed. But it wasn't just any plane.

_Clara, _she heard Charles silently communicate with her.

_I'm in the sub Charles_

_I know. Once they move from in front of it then I need you to come across to the plane, okay?_

Clare glanced back into the room she knew her father in and she then looked back across to the plane.

_No. Do not go in there after him. I can't read his mind and I fear I won't be able to communicate with you if you go in there._

_I need to Charles. He didn't tell me anything. I need to find out_

_You don't need to find anything out. We are in the middle of a possible nuclear war._

_Then I had best go and see what he is doing_

Clara ignored Charles' please for her to leave the sub and she continued to move deeper into the living room, pressing the button to the hidden room and seeing him stood there, his hands held over a podium in the room, the helmet sat proudly on his head.

"Go Clara," he demanded from her. "There's radiation in this room."

"And you plan to absorb it and use it, don't you?" she checked with him and he rolled his eyes, moving his hands from the podium and getting rid of the crick in his neck.

"What happened to your mother was a tragic accident," he told her simply. "She got in my way. No one gets in my way Clara. You understand that, don't you?"

"I can see," she whispered.

"When this is over then you will be safe Clara. You have always been safe with me, have you not?"

"Yes," she whispered. "But this is different...the things I know about you...I don't even want to be related to you anymore."

"You're being dramatic," Shaw snapped quickly back at her as she walked around the glass room. "You always were a spoilt brat Clara. You always thought you knew best. It was a trait which you get from me."

"I get nothing from you," she spat, disgusted at the thought. "We are nothing alike."

"We could be," he whispered. "The radiation I possess...it could make you one of us..."

"Clara," a cold voice snapped suddenly and she turned to see Erik stood behind her. His hands were clenched into fists and his face was full of anger. "Go to the plane. Charles is there."

"No," she said back to him. "I'm staying here."

"It wasn't a request. It was a command."

Before Clara had any chance to reply she felt a piece of metal hit her in the stomach, knocking her back against the wall of the sub and clenching around her stomach. Her breathing because shallow whilst Charles yelled at Erik to leave her be in his head.

"Enough," Shaw declared, his hands exerting the energy he had been holding and knocking Erik off balance until he fell to the floor. "If you want her to leave then you do it pleasantly little Erik."

"Fine," Erik snapped, releasing his grasp of the metal before he gently kept the piece of metal on her but it guided her to the end of the submarine. She fought against him but she was no match for his strength. Erik released the metal as soon as it fell to the middle of the beach.

"Clara!" Charles' voice yelled out as he ran from the submarine, slipping in the sand as he fell by her side, helping her to her feet and then pulling her back into the plane, his hands on her shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he checked with her. They both dropped to their knees and Clara nodded quickly.

"I need to go back," she said and Charles pressed his finger to his head once again.

"No," he said. "It's too dangerous...he's...I've lost Erik...I can't read his mind."

"What do you mean?" Clara snapped at him. "He's in the sub Charles."

"I know," he nodded. "I can sense him there...but it is like he's blocked my thoughts out...I can control Shaw and I can see Erik. No...Erik...stop it...no!"

Clara watched as Charles screamed out in pain and she grabbed onto his arm as he continued to yell out. The sounds of his cries were heard around the plane as Moira looked at him from her hiding spot. Charles finally went silent, looking at Clara before they heard the breaking of metal and their attentions returned to the beach. Charles tried to stop Clara from running out the plane but he failed. She was on the beach, stumbling about as she saw her father hoisted into the air, blood seeping from his forehead. Charles reached her side, his arm going around her waist as she felt her knees weaken and he held her tightly to him.

"Mutants!" Erik's voice suddenly shouted out loudly. "Today we unite! We will never be accepted as part of their society! They are out there right now; ready to fire their missiles onto this beach! They see us a threat to their world and that is exactly what we can be! We can rule against them!"

"Is he right?" Clara pondered as Erik hit the beach and she looked at Charles and he nodded at her.

"They're turning their missiles against us," he whispered and looked at Moira, silently communicating with her to go and give the signal not to fire.

"So we need to unite!" Erik declared. "We need to unite against this!"

"No," Charles replied. "Erik...we can't go against this."

Charles allowed his hold on Clara to slack and she rushed over to the body on the beach belonging to her father as the other mutants stood back on the beach as if that would save them from nuclear weapons. She knelt by Shaw, her hand resting onto his chest and she shook her head, her eyes wanting to tear up but not being able to do so.

"Why did you do it?" she whispered to him. "I loved you so much."

"Erik!" Charles suddenly yelled, snapping Clara out of the daze she was in as she looked at the scene unfolding on the beach. Large missiles were heading straight towards them. They were flying through the sky as Erik outstretched his hand, adjusting the helmet on his head which he wore.

"They are under orders Erik! You cannot fire them back!" Charles yelled and the two of them looked at each other for a moment.

"I've been at the mercy of men under orders," he replied quickly back to Charles. "I have no pity."

"Erik!" Clara suddenly snapped at him, standing up and gaining his attention."You can't do this to them...it isn't fair"

"You would think that," he hissed. "You're one of them!"

Before Clara could say anything more to him, Charles rushed forward, knocking Erik to the floor. The two men tousled on the ground, rolling around in the sand as Clara stumbled forwards, her dress flowing out behind her and she fell beside them as Erik knocked her back with his elbow, winding her. Before she heard anything else she saw a bullet flying through the air. Moira was firing with her gun as Erik advanced towards her, deflecting them. Clara moved over to Charles, looking to see if he was okay after Erik had punched him but before she could make it she felt something pierce her stomach.

"Clara!" Charles yelled as she screamed out in pain, the sand absorbing her body as she lay down in it. Charles scrambled over to her on his knees, his hands lifting her from her back, allowing her to be cradled in his arms. "Look what you did Erik!"

"Me?" Erik replied, his eyes glaring onto Moira whilst Charles shook his head.

"She didn't do this to her Erik," Charles replied. "You did it."

"Charles," Clara choked out.

"I'm here," he said quickly back to her, running a hand down her brown curls as she smiled up at him.

"I don't even know what to say," she managed to smile up at him. "Isn't this the part where people normally pour their hearts out?"

"No," Charles shook his head at her, "because nothing about this situation is normal Clara."

"You're...It's been brilliant Charles...I'll miss you, you know that right?"

"I can't disagree with that," he told her, sniffing once as he laughed at her small smile. "Why couldn't you just stay at the manor?" he asked. "Why couldn't you have done that?"

"Because I'm stubborn," she whispered. "I needed to be here...I couldn't have stayed...not knowing if you were..."

"But I would have known you were safe," he replied quickly back to her. "I would have known I had...someone...who was beginning to care..."

"I do care Charles," she said, picking up his hand and squeezing it with as much force as she could muster. "I do care."

Charles didn't gain the chance to say anything further to her. He supposed the rest of his words were meaningless. He held onto Clara until she finally closed her eyes and he could no longer feel her pulse. He had known her for far too short a period of time to even care deeply yet he could not control how he felt holding her on that beach.


End file.
